In the Court of the Vermilion Cat
by Five Dollar Mixtape
Summary: Sunpaw has lived her entire life in MountainClan, and though the mountain is harsh and the cats are harsher, she's happy with her life there. Everything changes, though, when a group of cats that call themselves the Coyotes attack her Clan and she meets a tom named Nimble Crow, changing her life and the lives of those around her forever.
1. allegiances & prologue

**[MountainClan]**

**Leader:** **Featherstar **— A silver Somali she-cat with green eyes.

**Deputy:** **Raventalon **— A black tom with ice blue eyes.

**Medicine Cats:**

**Petalnose **— A pale ginger she-cat with bright blue eyes.

**Windleaf **— A dark gray tom with amber eyes.

**Warriors:**

**Molebelly **— A tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with green eyes (Apprentice: _Silverpaw_).

**Emberstone **— A russet tom with hazel eyes.

**Wildbreeze **— A lilac tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes (Apprentice: _Sunpaw_).

**Bluewing **— A blue-gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes.

**Graythorn **— A gray tabby she-cat with copper eyes.

**Mothwhisker **— A pale brown she-cat with green eyes (Apprentice: _Raggedpaw_).

**Goldenice **— A pale brown shelled tom with ice blue eyes.

**Shadowstep **— A black she-cat with blue eyes.

**Apprentices:**

**Sunpaw **— A chocolate tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes (Mentor: _Wildbreeze_).

**Raggedpaw **— A messy-furred black tom with bright green eyes (Mentor: _Mothwhisker_).

**Silverpaw **— A pale gray, almost silver she-cat with ice blue eyes (Mentor: _Molebelly_).

**Queens:**

**Hawkfeather **— A brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes; mother of Dawnkit and Flightkit.

**Lilyclaw **— A small russet-colored she-cat with blue eyes; expecting.

**Kits:**

**Dawnkit **— A ginger she-cat with blue eyes.

**Flightkit **— A brown tabby tom with amber eyes.

**[Coyotes]**

**Monarch:** **Sunlit Claw **— A tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with hazel eyes.

**Heir:** **Golden Whiskers **— A large ruddy tabby tom with hazel eyes.

**Consort:** **Russet Pine **— A ruddy Somali tom with green eyes.

**Seconds:**

**Red Dusk **— A massive ruddy tabby tom with white paws and green eyes.

**Whispering Dew **— A tall tortoiseshell tom with hazel eyes.

**Nimble Crow **— A tall ruddy ticked tabby tom with green eyes.

**Hiding Hawk **— A tall ruddy ticked tabby tom with green eyes.

**Shy Tiger **— A tortoiseshell-and-white tom with green eyes.

**Little Badger **— A tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with green eyes.

**Healers:**

**Dawn Sky **— A silver tabby she-cat with amber eyes.

**Pebble Stream **— A gray tom with blue eyes (Softpaw: _Clover Leaf_).

**Frog Jumper **— A mottled brown tom with green eyes.

**Morning Mist **— A white she-cat with orange eyes.

**Sharpclaws:**

**Storm Chaser **— A dark gray tom with orange eyes (Softpaw: _Wren Flight_).

**Song Bird **— A gray-and-white she-cat with blue eyes.

**Lightning **— A black tom with yellow eyes (Softpaw: _Rock Jumper_).

**Ember Light **— A dark ginger tom with amber eyes.

**Ginger Rush **— A golden tom with cobalt-cerulean eyes.

**Dark Scorpion **— A red-and-black tom with yellow eyes (Softpaw: _Forest Eater_).

**Ebony Spring **— A black she-cat with dark blue eyes (Softpaw: _Black Mask_).

**Claw Swipe **— A brown-and-beige brindled tabby she-cat with amber eyes.

**Thrush Heart **— A pale brown brindled tabby she-cat with one amber eye and one green eye.

**Softpaws:**

**Forest Eater **— A large calico she-cat with bright green eyes (Mentor: _Dark Scorpion_).

**Clover Leaf **— A light brown tabby tom with green eyes (Mentor: _Pebble Stream_).

**Rock Jumper **— A lean gray tom (Mentor: _Lightning_).

**Wren Flight **— A blue-gray tom with golden eyes (Mentor: _Storm Chaser_).

**Black Mask **— A tortoiseshell-and-white tom with copper eyes (Mentor: _Ebony Spring_).

**Mother:** **Gold Tail **— A golden-furred she-cat with hazel eyes, mother of Birch Shade and Eagle Wing.

**Kits:**

**Birch Shade **— A gray-and-white tabby tom with hazel eyes.

**Eagle Wing **— A golden-furred she-kit with hazel eyes.

**[Wolves]**

**Monarch:** **Snow Sun **— A long-furred brown-and-black she-cat.

**Heir:** **Rising Moon **— A dark, silver-gray tabby she-cat with green eyes.

**Consort:** **Midnight Shadow **— A black, brown, and white tom with with emerald green eyes.

**Seconds:**

**Stone Trail **— A dark gray-and-white tom with blue eyes.

**Yarrow Frost **— A ginger-and-white tom with light blue eyes.

**Willow Blaze **— A large gray-and-white tabby she-cat with golden eyes.

**Mud Pelt **— A dark brown tom.

**White Rose **— A white she-cat with amber eyes.

**Healers:**

**Thorn Spike **— A gray tom with green eyes.

**Rain Cloud **— A pale gray tabby she-cat with amber eyes.

**Sparrow Sky **— A brown tom with blue eyes.

**Sharpclaws:**

**Brown Stripe **— A light brown tom with green eyes (Softpaw: _Spider Claw_).

**Running Light **— A white-and-sandy-colored tabby she-cat with bright amber eyes.

**Curled Bramble **— A dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes (Softpaw: _Dust Ear_).

**Grass Claw **— A brown tom with blue eyes.

**Soot Whisker **— A dark brown tom with amber eyes.

**Marigold **— A ginger she-cat (Softpaw: _Green Leaf_).

**Faded Stripe **— A large, gray-and-dusty brown she-cat with green eyes.

**Little Snow **— A small, gray-and-white she-cat with blue eyes.

**Blazing Fire **— A dark ginger she-cat with light amber eyes.

**Clouded Water **— A white-and-gray mottled she-cat with large, scarred, and blind jade-green eyes.

**Silver Night **— A dark gray-and-white she-cat with green eyes.

**Eagle Flight **— A reddish-brown-and-gray tom with striking amber eyes.

**Softpaws:**

**Green Leaf **— A brown tabby tom with green eyes (Mentor: _Marigold_).

**Dust Ear **— A gray tom (Mentor: _Curled Bramble_).

**Spider Claw **— A black tom with brown eyes (Mentor: _Brown Stripe_).

**Mothers:**

**Rising Moon **— See _Heir_, mother of Darkening Sun and Dappled Shade.

**Starling Feather **— A gray and black tabby she-cat, expecting Grass Claw's kits.

**Kits:**

**Dark Sun **— A smoked-and-white tom with green eyes.

**Dappled Shade **— A dilute tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes.

**[Foxes]**

**Monarch:** **Shadow Eye **— A black tabby tom.

**Heir:** **Bark Wing **— A dark brown tabby tom.

**Consort:** **Juniper Branch **— A mottled gray she-cat with amber eyes.

**Seconds:**

**Soot Dust **— A brown-and-black dappled tom with yellow eyes.

**Raven Wind **— A small black tom with golden eyes.

**Snowy Fields **— A gray and white she-cat with pale green eyes.

**Heather Eyes **— A black she-cat with hazel eyes.

**Healers:**

**Morning Rose **— A chocolate tortoiseshell she-cat.

**Snow Hare **— A large, white she-cat with blue eyes.

**Dark Claw **— A black she-cat with green eyes.

**Golden Dawn **— A golden-and-white furred she-cat.

**Water Petal **— A large, blue-gray tom with copper eyes.

**Sharpclaws:**

**Running Raven **— A black tom with amber eyes (Softpaw: _Amber Poppy_).

**Eagle Feather **— A ginger mottled tom with blue eyes (Softpaw: _Calm Ash_).

**Pine Needle **— A golden tabby tom with amber eyes (Softpaw: _Jay Skip_).

**Nettle Shade **— A large, dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes (Softpaw: _Rushing Creek_).

**Sun Paws **— A small, golden-and-white tom with cobalt-emerald eyes.

**Ash Wing **— A gray tom with green eyes (Softpaw: _Turtle Patches_).

**White Frost **— An albino tom with pink eyes.

**Owl Face **— A small and sleek ginger-and-white tom with orange eyes.

**Blizzard Storm **— A gray-and-white tom with ice blue eyes (Softpaw: _Wolf Run_).

**Frost Rabbit **— A light gray-and-white she-cat with ice blue eyes.

**Mouse Jump **— A small, brown-and-gray she-cat with mint green eyes.

**Vole Pounce **— A small, brown-and-gray she-cat with mint green eyes.

**Cloud Dance **— A white tom with pale blue eyes.

**Russet Bird **— A reddish-brown-and-white tom with yellow eyes.

**Stoat Frost **— A reddish-brown, white, and black tom with bright green eyes.

**Horse **— A tall dilute calico tom with green eyes.

**Softpaws:**

**Amber Poppy **— A ginger tom with orange eyes (Mentor: _Running Raven_).

**Calm Ash **— A ginger she-cat with green eyes (Mentor: _Eagle Feather_).

**Jay Skip **— A dark gray tom with yellow eyes (Mentor: _Pine Needle_).

**Turtle Patches **— A tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes (Mentor: _Gray Wing_).

**Rushing Creek **— A gray tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes (Mentor: _Pine Shade_).

**Wolf Run **— A gray-and-brown tom with orange eyes (Mentor: _Blizzard Storm_).

**Mothers:**

**Soft Feather **— A silver tabby she-cat with blue eyes, mother of Falling Ember, Moon Shine, and Mole Hill.

**Frosted Rose **— A short, white she-cat with amber eyes, mother of Fish Whisker, Gray Snow, and Light Skip.

**Lily Pond **— A blue-gray she-cat with light blue eyes, mother of Quiet Stream, Fawn Dance, Stag Leap, and Oak Shadow.

**Kits:**

**Falling Ember **— A small, pale gray she-cat with green eyes.

**Moon Shine **— A sleek-furred silver tabby she-cat with light blue eyes.

**Mole Hill **— A large, mottled brown-and-white tom with amber eyes.

**Fish Whisker **— A silver tabby she-kit with blue eyes.

**Gray Snow **— A pale gray-and-white she-kit with emerald green eyes.

**Light Skip **— A small, pale golden-and-white tabby tom with emerald eyes.

**Quiet Stream **— A small, light gray-and-white she-cat with ice blue eyes.

**Fawn Dance **— A ginger she-cat with orange eyes.

**Stag Leap **— A dark ginger tom with one blue eye and one orange eye.

**Oak Shadow **— A calico tom with bright green eyes.

* * *

Most kits were confined to the nursery when they were her age.

Queens wanted to protect them from the cold that resided in the main camp until they lost most of their kit fluff and away from the sharp stones that made their homes there until they were more coordinated. If a queen did allow for her kits to leave the nursery, she would watch them like she was a hawk rather than a cat. Molebelly, though, was different — with no queens in the nursery and wanting to continue on with her warrior duties, she allowed for both Sunkit and Raggedkit to play in the large cavern that made up MountainClan's camp and trusted the warriors and apprentices to watch over them for her when she wasn't around to do so herself.

That wasn't the case right then, though. With no patrols demanding her attention, the tortoiseshell watched over her kits herself as they tousled.

It was soon proven that kits of their age, lacking coordination as they were, shouldn't be trusted to play fight in the main camp. Raggedkit had knocked his sister over, and she had cut her cheek on a sharp stone. Though he'd apologized profusely, the damage was done, and Sunkit found herself fighting off tears borne from the stinging pain. She watched through tear-blurred vision as the darker tortoiseshell got to her paws and padded over, and without any preamble she dipped her head to lick at her wound, clearing away blood in her daughter's paler tortoiseshell fur.

"Are you alright?" Molebelly asked once she'd pulled away.

Sunkit only sniffled, more blood slowly oozing out of her wound. In response, the older cat hummed.

"Let's take you to the medicine cats," Molebelly meowed. She took Sunkit's scruff in her teeth before she had any time to worry about the statement, flicked her tail to Raggedkit in a silent order for him to follow, then headed off in the direction of the nursery and medicine den. The tunnel, in the kit's young perspective, seemed wide and yawning. The farther down they went through the passage, the harder it was to see, and when they came across a fork in it Molebelly took the path on the left.

Sunkit was gently set down on the ground, and she turned to look at Raggedkit with wide, worried eyes. In return, her brother offered her an encouraging but wobbly smile, trotting over to her on uncoordinated paws and plopping himself down next to her.

"Petalnose?" Molebelly called. "Windpaw?"

A dark gray tom poked his head around the corner of the den. He blinked amber eyes at the trio, and when he stepped fully into view Sunkit saw a leaf caught in his long fur.

"Molebelly?" he questioned. "What's wrong?"

"Sunkit hurt her cheek." The kit in question felt her mother's tail curl loosely around her. "Where's Petalnose?"

"Out gathering herbs," Windpaw answered. "But I can take care of a cut, don't worry." With that, the tom turned and disappeared back the way he had come.

"Raggedkit, Sunkit," Molebelly began, causing both of her kits to crane their necks to look up at her. Her voice sounded as cold and sharp as the wind that howled outside of the cave — it always did — but despite all that it still comforted the younger she-cat. "What have you learned from this?"

Sunkit moved to lift a paw to press against her cheek, but her mother rested her tail tip on it and put an end to the action. "Stone hurts," she answered, her voice thick with tears.

Molebelly tilted her head, impassive. "You're not wrong," she decided. "But what else?"

The kit's ears flattened as she thought, but no answer came to mind. Her and Raggedkit shared a glance, as if that would help, but neither of them spoke after they had done so. Their mother sighed, shaking her head before she spoke.

"The mountain is dangerous," she told them. "There's snow and ice and stone that will put an end to a cat if they're not careful. It's a harsh place to live, and if we're going to stay here, we have to be just as harsh. Do you understand?"

Always eager to learn a new lesson, grasp a new piece of information between her paws and tuck it securely into her mind, Sunkit gave a firm nod of her head. At the same time as her brother, she mewed, "Yes, Molebelly."

* * *

Sunpaw's first lesson as a 'paw was just as harsh as a MountainClan apprentice's should be.

Her mentor, Wildbreeze, was an intimidating she-cat. She was strong and firm and demanded respect everywhere she went; she didn't put up with any rule-breaking (Sunpaw was more concerned with Raggedpaw doing that than herself) or anything less than her apprentice trying her best (something that Sunpaw had no trouble obeying). She didn't enjoy having to repeat herself in any way, shape, or form, and the new apprentice quickly learned that it was better to learn everything quickly and accept any corrections given to her rather than ask for clarification. Though her lilac tortoiseshell pelt was short, she seemed to deal with the cold just fine, and that only added to her imposing figure.

After her ceremony and she'd been allowed time to receive congradulations from Molebelly, Wildbreeze led her outside of camp. She looked over the mountain with eager eyes, falling into step behind her mentor as she led her across the stone-and-snow landscape. Eventually, they paused on a flat, even bit of the mountain, from which the chocolate tortoiseshell could see the rest of the range.

The warrior had unsheathed her claws and swiped at her ears before Sunpaw could so much as blink, creating a nic in the fragile skin there. The wound stung in the biting mountain air, and she could feel the blood trickling from the cut and getting caught in her fur.

Sunpaw had noticed that a lot of warriors carried scars like that.

Wildbreeze fixed her with her sharp amber gaze. "You can't learn anything from me until your body learns to scar," she'd told her.

She didn't quite know what that was supposed to mean, but she was as eager to learn as she always was, and responded, "Yes, Wildbreeze."

* * *

**hey, remember this? you might notice some differences.**

**Ashpaw is now Sunpaw — her appearance changed as well, but i think this fits better for her. i also changed up some details about her family, so it makes more sense genetics-wise, too. Wildwind is now Wildbreeze — a name that i feel fits her a lot better, and can't be confused with Windleaf (which i did a few times while writing).**

**i also changed some characters' names — there were two Snow Hares (one of which was changed to Frost Rabbit in the Foxes, to avoid the repeat of 'Snow' as well) and there were also two Eagle Flights (one of which is now Eagle Feather, also in the Foxes). other names were changed to be more realistic, or in Jaded Sight and Clawed Back's case, because i don't imagine that these groups have name changing ceremonies. as such, Jaded Sight's name has been changed to Clouded Water, as is listed in her history, and Clawed Back has been changed to Claw Swipe. other changes i made were to make appearances more realistic.**

**anyways, i figured that the people who submitted characters for this have waited for it long enough, though i don't have very many pre-written. unlike Dance With Shadows, i have all the submitted characters for this saved online, so i won't lose any of them!**


	2. one

Sunpaw watched as Wildbreeze idly washed a forepaw, though she focused on keeping her movements slow and silent, as if she was stalking prey rather than another cat. She moved carefully among the brush and the shadows, hiding her tortoiseshell pelt among them. Her mentor's amber eyes flicked around her as she searched for her apprentice, and Sunpaw paused, keeping her own eyes pinned on her. They narrowed when the warrior's claws flashed in the sun, and her ears flicked back against her skull — it was going to be _that_ kind of day, it seemed.

She bunched her muscles and pounced, paws and claws outstretched and ready to attack. The warrior easily and gracefully got to her paws, starting to move out of the way, but Sunpaw barreled into her before she could do so completely. The two of them tumbled, but Sunpaw found herself crushed under Wildbreeze's weight. She kicked at her mentor's flank with her hindpaws, forcing her off, and quickly rolled back onto her paws, panting harshly. Her mentor lifted a paw and delivered a heavy blow to her muzzle, but the apprentice ignored the pain and dug her fangs into the paw. In response, Wildbreeze reared up onto her hindpaws, bringing up her other paw and boxing her ears.

Sunpaw rammed her right shoulder into the other tortoiseshell's chest, knocking her off her paws. When she charged forward to pin her, she was kicked backward by a hindpaw and landed heavily on her side, getting the wind knocked out of her lungs.

"Well done, Sunpaw."

The warrior barely sounded out of breath. She turned her head to watch as she licked the fur on her chest, getting to her paws as the older she-cat continued. "You were stealthy, silent, and swift. That's exactly how an ambush should be."

Sunpaw dipped her head respectfully. "Thank you, Wildbreeze."

Wildbreeze stepped forward to inspect her pelt, licking at her ears and muzzle and the stray drops of blood that had started to slip out of her new wounds. "Even though you didn't win, you still did a good amount of damage for your level of training, as well." Sunpaw nodded. "Now, let's get ourselves treated."

The chocolate tortoiseshell tilted her head. "Do you think that Petalnose and Windpaw are back, yet?"

"The half-moon only takes a night," Wildbreeze told her. "I doubt it takes nearly as long to come back as it does to talk with StarClan." She turned and began trotting across the snow-coated stone, and Sunpaw quickly followed at her heels, taking the time to look around the territory she had quickly fallen in love with.

MountainClan lived on a mountain on the outskirts of a range. The top was where most training and hunting occurred and was covered in snow, even when the leaves of the distant trees were all green. Occasionally, cats would take the long journey to the base of the mountain, where prey was easier to catch and a cat could see the reflection of the mountain in a large, clear lake where they could catch fish. They didn't have a lot of trees or plants at the top of it, but towards the base there were plenty of herbs to be found. Wildbreeze led the way through a well-trod path in the snow towards the cave where the Clan made their camp — at first, the only pawsteps to be found were the ones that the warrior and apprentice pair had made earlier that day, but the number grew with cats leaving for patrols or in hunting pairs or other mentors and apprentices as they got closer and closer to camp.

Sunpaw fluffed out her pelt as she stepped into the warmth of camp, stepping around the nests — some of which containing still-sleeping warriors — that surrounded the Tall Rock as she followed after Wildbreeze. The warrior trotted into the tunnel that lead to the medicine den and nursery, Sunpaw having to use her whiskers to guide her along and veering to the left once it branched off.

The scent of herbs hit her like a wall, along with a beam of light from a hole in the ceiling of the den. "Petalnose?" Wildbreeze called. "Windpaw?"

"Wind_leaf_," a voice corrected, proud as could be.

Sunpaw turned her head to watch the gray tom as he approached, his bright amber eyes shining. "Congradulations," she mewed, dipping her head to him.

Wildbreeze nodded her head firmly. "You should have earned that name moons ago," she declared firmly.

Windleaf let out a loud and rumbling purr, then sobered himself. "Do you need anything?"

The warrior nodded her head. "Sunpaw's ears and muzzle," she answered, jerking her head towards her apprentice, "and my paw," she added, lifting the paw the younger tortoiseshell had bitten. She couldn't help but to feel proud of the inflicted injury, even as Windleaf frowned and turned, disappearing back into the herb store. The lilac tortoiseshell looked back at her. "Once we're done here, you can have something to eat — just take some prey to the queens and kits first, and be ready for tomorrow."

Sunpaw nodded. "Yes, Wildbreeze." She nodded and gave a satisfied hum, turning her head when Windleaf returned with herbs in his jaws. She attentively as the tom chewed the leaves into a poultice, licking it onto the warrior's paw and thoroughly coating the wound. For her part, Wildbreeze didn't even flinch, simply watching as Windleaf wrapped the limb with cobwebs and leaving the den once he was finished without even the hint of a limp.

Windleaf turned his attention to Sunpaw. "The day that no 'paws come to this den from hurting each other is a day that will be blessed by StarClan," he declared sagely, dipping his head to lap up the rest of the herbs at his paws and beginning to chew them up.

"You were a 'paw yesterday," Sunpaw pointed out. "And you used to complain about _Clanmates_ hurting each other."

"It would have been Wildbreeze that did this, wouldn't it?"

"Don't talk with your mouth full."

Windleaf pulled a face at her, but he stayed silent until he'd licked the herbs onto her scratches and reared up onto her hind paws to start pressing cobwebs to them, ignoring her winces from the sting. "I don't get what the point of all you warriors hurting each other is," he meowed.

"It's important for training," Sunpaw told him. "How am I supposed to know what a real battle is like if we don't use claws?"

"It's a waste of good herbs," Windleaf argued.

"It makes good warriors," the she-cat countered as he dropped back to all four paws. "Besides, sometimes I don't get hurt by Wildbreeze or Raggedpaw or Silverpaw, but you'll still say it is."

"That's because it _usually_ is. You're _training_, you shouldn't have to worry about getting hurt. Petalnose says the same thing."

The apprentice let out a sigh, the nic in her ear aching and her new scratches still stinging. "Nothing I say is going to change your mind."

He smiled at her, but it wasn't a happy one. "No, it won't," he agreed, then flicked his tail towards the tunnel. "You're all set."

Sunpaw dipped her head. "Thank you, Windleaf." His smile turned more genuine as she got to her paws and left the den, disappearing into the shadows like her mentor before her.

She felt her whiskers brushing against the walls of the tunnel — it always felt shorter to her when she was leaving rather than entering, and when she left it the air always felt fresher in the main cave. Maybe it was always fresher, she just always appreciated it more once she was leaving the medicine den or the nursery. Her back arched in a stretch and her toes flexed in front of her before she made her way towards the fresh-kill pile.

"Hey, Sunpaw!" a voice called. The tortoiseshell she-cat looked over her shoulder, watching as Raggedpaw approached her, his tail lifted over his back in a wave. His messy black pelt was fluffed up to warm him, and his paws looked wet and still had a few clumps of snow clinging to the fur there, so she guessed he'd just returned to camp.

"Hello, Raggedpaw," Sunpaw greeted. "How was training?"

Raggedpaw shrugged one of his shoulders — under the long fur, Sunpaw could see a long and thin scar. "Me and Mothwhisker went hunting. She had me keep watch for birds of prey — I fought off an eagle!" he told her happily. Sunpaw nodded in response. "Battle training for you, though, huh?"

She nodded again. "I have to take fresh-kill to the queens. Do you want to come?"

"Sure," Raggedpaw mewed with a nod. "We could spend time with the kits, too — maybe they'll ask us to teach them battle moves!"

"They aren't six moons, yet," Sunpaw reminded.

The tom rolled his eyes, turning and heading towards the prey pile. "You sound keep sounding like Mom," he complained.

"It's the _Code_, Raggedpaw."

"Not officially."

"Official enough to get you in trouble."

He ignored her and dipped his head and picked up a falcon while Sunpaw collected a squirrel, and the two padded back into the tunnel with the she-cat in the lead. When the tunnel branched to the left, they ignored the turn and continued forward. Sunpaw's ears perked at the squeaky, playful voices of kits, which grew louder and louder until she could understand them clearly.

"You can't beat me, Dawnstar!" one stated. "Not when I have MountainClan on my side!"

"LakeClan won't be defeated!" the second declared. It was followed by a tiny grunt — Sunpaw assumed that they had started to wrestle. Her and Raggedpaw stepped into the nursery, blinking at the dim lighting in the den (she wasn't quite sure where it had come from, and had been trying to figure it out since she had opened her eyes). She could only really see the reflections in the eyes of the queens and kits, and she knew that they could see the apprentices better than they could.

"Sunpaw? Raggedpaw?" A kind voice asked. "Are those for us?"

Sunpaw set down the squirrel, and she heard more than she saw Raggedpaw move over to the nest the voice had come from. "Yes, it is," she answered. "You like falcon, don't you, Hawkfeather?"

"I do," Hawkfeather answered, a small smile on her face. She turned her amber yes to look at her kits. "Dawnkit? Flightkit? What do we say?"

"Thank you!" the two kits chorused — while Dawnkit seemed fine with what Raggedpaw had picked out for them, Flightkit's nose was wrinkled in distaste, but he raised no complaints as the siblings padded over to their mother whilst she plucked feathers from the bird of prey. Sunpaw picked up the squirrel again, padding over to the second nest in the den and the heavily pregnant queen that resided in it.

"Here you go, Lilyclaw," Sunpaw offered once she'd set it down in front of her. "I know you aren't hungry, but I hope you'll enjoy it."

Lilyclaw offered her a small smile. "I don't think I'd enjoy eating anything right now," she admitted, even as she lifted a paw to pull the squirrel closer and curled her tail around her round, kit-filled belly.

"They should be here soon, shouldn't they?" Sunpaw asked. "You've been here for…"

"Nearly two moons," Lilyclaw filled in. "I'm excited to not feel so _tired_ all the time."

Sunpaw nodded her head, a smile curling at her muzzle. "But then you'll have to chase after them all day, won't you?"

"Only for six moons," Lilyclaw asserted. "Then they'll be apprentices, and then they'll be warriors."

"So their mentors, Raventalon's, and Featherstar's problem?"

Lilyclaw grinned up at her, blue eyes shining. "Exactly that," she asserted, making the apprentice let out an amused purr in response, her whiskers twitching. The queen tilted her head at her. "Do you think you want kits, Sunpaw?"

Sunpaw blinked at her, ears flicking backwards. "I suppose," she admitted. "But there's no toms my age in the Clan besides Raggedpaw, and I can't imagine being mates with Flightkit, so…"

"Maybe you'll be mates with one of mine?" Lilyclaw suggested. Sunpaw's nose wrinkled at that — why would she want to be mates with a cat so much younger than her? Flightkit was already too young — and the russet-colored she-cat laughed at her.

Sunpaw lifted her chin and, primly as she could, mewed, "Eat your squirrel." She turned towards her brother, glancing over at Hawkfeather and her kits, watching as they ate the falcon the other apprentice had brought them and determinedly ignoring the snickering coming from behind her. "Raggedpaw," Sunpaw called.

When the tom in question turned his head to look at her, she jerked her head towards the entrance of the den and began to pad off, flicking her tail in goodbye to the queens without waiting for him. She heard him offer his own awkward, stilted, and rushed goodbyes before he rushed to catch up with her. Before he spoke, she told him, "We still haven't eaten yet."

"Oh," he mewed. She could imagine him nodding his head. "Right."


	3. two

Sunpaw woke to the feeling of freezing cold wind cutting through her thick pelt. She shivered, lying her tail over her muzzle and shuffling closer to her brother. She blinked open her eyes briefly, glancing up at Raggedpaw as he tried in vein to neaten his chest fur. She cast a short glance around to look for the last cat that they shared their nest with, but she didn't spot her anywhere — she must have already gone out for training, she decided. She let her eyes slipped closed again, only to open them again when the black-pelted tom nudged her shoulder with a paw.

"Morning," he meowed. "I heard the moon high patrol found some weird scents on the territory."

Sunpaw lifted her head, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. "Did they?"

Raggedpaw nodded. "Featherstar isn't too worried about it, but Raventalon's been telling us all to be careful."

The tortoiseshell hummed, sitting up in their shared nest and stretching out her limbs thoroughly. "It was probably just some cats passing through," she decided. "Featherstar's right — no cat wants to live here except for us."

"Why would they want to be here when they could be somewhere _warm_, instead?" Raggedpaw asked, a hint of a purr in his voice and his whiskers twitching. "Cats would like the lake better, wouldn't they?"

"_Most_ cats," Sunpaw corrected. "I'm perfectly content with the mountain." Raggedpaw nodded his agreement, then got to his paws.

"I should go look for Mothwhisker," he mewed. "See you later?"

She nodded. "Have fun," she told him. He turned and padded away from her, waving his tail in goodbye and leaving her with her thoughts.

For all that she was sure that whoever the strange scents belonged to wouldn't cause any trouble, she was still worried. MountainClan traveled in groups or two or three, at least — it was necessary to do so on the mountain, if a cat didn't want to get carried off by hawks or eagles or falcons — and groups could be seen as a threat by outsiders, especially if they were outnumbered. Not to mention that cats unfamiliar with the terrain wouldn't be aware of its dangers and would be liable to get killed by its predators or the mountain itself.

She shook her head, shaking off the thoughts. They'd realize the mountain wasn't for them soon enough or a patrol would find them and send them on their way, and if they got killed then it wasn't the Clan's problem.

"Sunpaw!" Wildbreeze's voice called. Sunpaw's head jerked upwards in surprise, looking over her shoulder at the lilac tortoiseshell and quickly getting to her paws as the warrior approached. The older she-cat began speaking without offering so much as a greeting. "Raventalon has put us on a hunting patrol. I expect you to practice hunting large birds and defending from them, as well."

Sunpaw nodded her head. "Yes, Wildbreeze."

The warrior flicked an ear at her, then turned and padded to the entrance of the cave, where patrols were already gathering. Sunpaw padded at her heels as she was led to where three other cats had already gathered; one was a new warrior, a cat who'd earned her warrior name a few days after Sunpaw had become an apprentice. Her pelt was a pure black color that was as dark as the night sky, and her eyes were a dark blue that was as dark as dusk. Molebelly sat beside her, and next to her mother was her apprentice — a pale gray she-cat whose pelt was so light that it almost looked silver, and pale ice blue eyes to match.

The younger she-cat brightened when she spotted her peer. "Morning, Sunpaw!" she greeted happily. Molebelly offered her daughter a dip of her head.

"Good morning Mom, Silverpaw," Sunpaw mewed, returning the dip of her head to her mother and offering it to the younger cat.

"Are we ready to go?" Molebelly questioned.

Wildbreeze looked at the two apprentices, then at the young warrior, and nodded her head. "It seems that we are," she answered.

"Let's not waste any more time, then," Molebelly meowed. She rose to her paws and flicked her tail over Silverpaw's ear, and when she padded passed Sunpaw she offered the same to her daughter. Wildbreeze moved to catch up with the other warrior, and the young tortoiseshell found herself falling in step with Silverpaw and the black-furred she-cat as they left the cave.

Snow was falling in clumps, already starting to cling to the cats' fur as they made their way outside. Sunpaw fluffed her fur up against the cold, watching as the clusters of snowflakes slowly fluttered downwards, and couldn't help but to find the scene beautiful.

The black she-cat beside her let out a loud purr, her gaze drifting from Silverpaw to Sunpaw. "I can't say I miss where my nest used to be, with _this_ right next to it," she told them.

"Shut up, Shadowstep!" Silverpaw mewed, playful. She nudged the other's shoulder with her own, but Shadowstep barely budged. "You _know_ you miss sleeping next to Raggedpaw and Sunpaw!"

Shadowstep shook her head. "Nope — Raggedpaw moves too much when he sleeps. Sunpaw is fine, though."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Sunpaw mewed.

"You should," Shadowstep agreed in a purr. "You made a great nestmate! For a few days, at least — I hope that once you're a warrior, you'll want to join me again."

"What about Raggedpaw?"

"Everyone who squirms in their sleep can sleep together," Shadowstep declared with a firm nod of her head. Silverpaw tilted her head, as if she was thinking, then nodded her agreement.

"The rest of us can keep each other nice and warm, and we can actually sleep well," Silverpaw added.

Shadowstep let out a hum, narrowing her eyes playfully at the younger. "I don't know…" she trailed off, then turned her head to look at the other apprentice. "What do you think, Sunpaw? Is she a good nestmate?"

Sunpaw considered for a few moments. "She's fine," she eventually decided. "She's not as bad as Raggedpaw can be, but sometimes her paws have a mind of their own."

Shadowstep nodded seriously. "We'll give her a trial run, then."

"_Hey_!" Silverpaw argued, and Shadowstep laughed. The gray-furred apprentice was about to protest some more before a clump of snow landed on her nose, making her blink at the sudden cold and go cross-eyed to look at it. She lifted a paw to bat off the already-melting flake, then reached forward to bat at a clump of snowflakes that was about to fall on top of Sunpaw's head. She leapt in front of the young warrior and tortoiseshell apprentice to capture a few more, and Sunpaw watched her with amusement, a small smile on her face and whiskers twitching all the while.

"Good job, Silverpaw," a voice called. All three cats lifted their heads to look at Molebelly — both her and Wildbreeze had stopped, and were looking over their shoulders at the young she-cat. "But perhaps you should save your practice for prey, rather than snow?" the older tortoiseshell suggested.

Silverpaw's ears flattened against her head. "Yes, Molebelly; sorry, Molebelly." The warrior nodded her head, her and Wildbreeze turning their heads and continuing forward. Sunpaw padded after them, flicking her tail across Silverpaw's flank in comfort as she passed, but her whiskers still twitched with amusement. Her ears angled backwards as she heard Shadowstep start padding beside the younger she-cat.

"I think," the warrior meowed seriously, "that your warrior name is going to be Silversnow."

"What?" Silverpaw asked. "Why?" Curious as to the answer, Sunpaw slowed her pace and looked over her shoulder to see Shadowstep's broad grin.

"Because you always get distracted when it snows!" she laughed.

"_Hey_!" Silverpaw complained with a pout. Sunpaw let out a purr and Shadowstep bounded forward to catch up with her, but neither made any more conversation: the chocolate tortoiseshell turned her attention to the skies, searching for any eagles or falcons or hawks that might have been interested in making them their prey.

* * *

The hawk was heavy on Sunpaw's shoulders, but she shared the weight with Silverpaw, making the trip back to camp easier. Shadowstep carried a rabbit in her jaws, Molebelly had a mouse, and Wildbreeze had a sparrow. They made their way through the snow by padding through the pawsteps they'd already made, even if the snow had already started filling them back up.

Her hunting wasn't quite up to Wildbreeze's standards, especially on a day like this when it was hard to find larger birds with all the snow that was falling. Still, she had time to work on it; she wouldn't be eligible for earning her warrior name for a while yet.

They entered camp with their catches, Molebelly in the lead and Shadowstep at the rear, moving around nests and placing their prey on the fresh-kill pile. The dark-furred tortoiseshell turned her head to look at the pair of apprentices. "Silverpaw, you can pick something for yourself," she told her. The pale-furred she-cat grinned, nodding her head and picking out a sparrow — not the one that Wildbreeze had caught — before bounding off. "Sunpaw, I'd like to eat with you and Raggedpaw; I want to know how your training has been going."

As Sunpaw nodded, Wildbreeze spoke. "You _could_ just ask me, Molebelly."

"_You_ aren't one of my kits." With that, Molebelly dipped her head and picked an eagle out from the prey pile, moving towards the edge of the cave. Sunpaw padded off towards Raggedpaw, who was sitting with a she-cat near the entrance of the cave. Her pelt was a pale brown color, and her green eyes were far paler than her apprentice's. As she grew closer, both cats turned their heads to look at her. Sunpaw dipped her head to the warrior, then turned her attention to her brother.

"Molebelly wants to eat with us," she told him. Raggedpaw nodded, but he looked up at his mentor for permission.

Mothwhisker let out a sigh, but Sunpaw knew her well enough to know that it was more for show than it was for anything else. "Alright," she meowed, drawing out the word as if it pained her. "Have fun, Raggedpaw."

Raggedpaw nodded, a smile on his face. "I will!" he promised. "Thanks, Mothwhisker!" He quickly got to his paws, trotting passed Sunpaw and leading the way across the cave towards Molebelly, only forced to stop as Flightkit and Dawnkit ran in front of them.

"I'm the fastest mouse!" the ginger she-kit was insisting. "You won't catch me!"

"Yes, I wi—" the brown tabby tom paused to look up at the apprentices. "Oh, hi Sunpaw, Raggedpaw." With that, Flightkit continued the chase.

Sunpaw tilted her head, one of her ears folding backwards in confusion. "Hawkfeather let them out of the nursery?" she asked.

Raggedpaw gave a slow shrug of his shoulders. "I guess so," he meowed, then continued onwards. As they went, Sunpaw glanced around camp, and she spotted the brown tabby queen seated next to a gray tabby she-cat.

When the siblings reached their mother, they settled down across from her and joined her in plucking feathers from the bird, making quick work of the task. Once they finished, Molebelly nudged the eagle towards them.

"Go on. It's not going to carry you off," she meowed dryly.

Raggedpaw smiled at her and Sunpaw's whiskers twitched, and the two both dipped their heads to take a bite out of their shared meal.

"How has your training been going?"

"Mothwhisker says that I need to work on my landing whenever I attack birds of prey," Raggedpaw reported once he'd swallowed his mouthful.

Molebelly nodded. "You've always had a talent for fighting, even if you prefer to keep your paws on the ground," she stated. "And cats are good at balance, so I'm sure you'll learn quickly." The tom nodded his head seriously, even if Sunpaw could tell that he was preening inwardly by the way that his ears perked atop his head.

The older tortoiseshell turned her attention to her daughter.

"I have to work on my group hunting," Sunpaw told her.

Molebelly gave a slow nod. "She's right," she agreed. "But you're a fast learner. I'd suggest practicing the way you leap when you catch birds of prey, and the way you grip them."

Sunpaw nodded, just as seriously as her brother had, if not more so. "I will," she assured.

Molebelly glanced between the two, her expression changing just slightly to something more fond — a cat who didn't know her as well as her kits did wouldn't be able to see the shift. "I'm glad that you're both enjoying your training," she meowed. "And that you're on your way to becoming warriors that the Clan can be proud of."

Sunpaw let out a quiet purr; she wouldn't stand for herself becoming anything less.


	4. three

"Did you guys hear about that weird scent?" was the first thing Silverpaw asked as the three settled in for the night, glancing between Sunpaw and Raggedpaw.

"You mean the one that Raventalon's been worrying about?" Raggedpaw asked.

Silverpaw nodded her head. "The dusk patrol smelled it again!" she told them, her voice full of excitement — as if it was something to be excited about. Sunpaw tilted her head in confusion, but when she spoke, it was mostly to herself and only partially to her fellow apprentices.

"Does that mean that they came back?" Sunpaw wondered. "Or did they ever leave in the first place?"

Silverpaw shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows," she meowed. "Featherstar always says that nobody wants to live here except us, though."

"Maybe they're crazy enough?" Raggedpaw suggested.

Silverpaw let out a loud laugh. "No cat is more crazy than MountainClan!" she declared, all-too-proud.

Sunpaw let out a hum, her eyes fixed on the entrance of camp. With how close the apprentices' nest was to it, she could see the snow still falling even in the dark of night and she could hear the wind howling outside of the cave. She stared as if she was on watch; as if whoever the trespassers were, they were liable to appear at the mouth of the cave at any moment.

She hoped that they weren't dead, even as she told herself, _It's not MountainClan's problem if they are_.

"Thanks, I guess," Raggedpaw mewed.

"I guess?" Silverpaw echoed.

"Er," the tom began eloquently, then admitted, "I _think_ it's a compliment, but I'm not sure."

One of Silverpaw's ears folded backwards in confusion. "My mom says it all the time."

"I suppose that you take after Graythorn, then," Sunpaw meowed. She tore her eyes away from the entrance of camp, lifting a paw to lick at it before drawing it over her muzzle.

Raggedpaw laughed. "It's definitely not Goldenice," he joked.

Silverpaw flattened her ears against her head, scowling at the tom as her hackles rose. "I take after him!" she argued hotly.

_It must be a sensitive subject,_ Sunpaw thought. _Maybe she thinks she has to act more like her father._ Out loud, she told her nestmate, "There's nothing wrong with not acting like him. He acts like MountainClan cats do, but no one says you have to act that way."

Raggedpaw gave Silverpaw a weak grin, lifting a paw to shove at her shoulder. "I don't!"

"Sunpaw does," Silverpaw grumbled, her head low.

"Mom says that I take after both of my birth parents in some way," Sunpaw told her. "She says that all of us do."

"Obviously, she's wrong."

Raggedpaw shook his head. "_I_ heard that you're turning into just as good a hunter as Goldenice is."

At that, Silverpaw's head shot up, her ears perking. "Really?!" she asked, the excitement back in her voice.

Sunpaw nodded her head. "Mom said it herself."

The she-cat shifted her weight from paw to paw. "Then I hope we're going hunting tomorrow!" she told the two of them happily.

"You'll have to go to sleep, first," Sunpaw admonished. Silverpaw nodded her head frantically, plopping herself down into the nest and snuggling into the moss. Once she was sure that the younger apprentice was asleep, Sunpaw turned her head to look at her brother, only to pause at the look on his face — one full of sadness and contemplation. "What's wrong?" she questioned, keeping her voice soft as to not wake Silverpaw.

"You said that we're all like our parents, but…" he trailed off.

"You don't know your birth parents," Sunpaw finished.

Raggedpaw nodded his head. "And obviously, I'm not like Mom."

"Maybe you are like your birth parents," Sunpaw told him. "We don't know."

His green eyes hardened, and he glared down at the moss of their nest. "They left me, and I don't _want_ to be like cats who left me."

"We don't know that."

"We don't know that they _didn't_."

Sunpaw thought for a few moments, slowly curling her tail close to her side. "If they left you," she told him, "then they're beetle-brains. You can be stupid sometimes, but you're not a beetle-brain."

With that, she settled down into the nest, curling herself around Silverpaw and settling her head on one of the other she-cat's paws. After a few long moments, she heard Raggedpaw begin to settle down, and she felt him press his pelt against hers. It didn't take her long after that to fall asleep.

* * *

In the morning, Sunpaw woke to the sound of her name being called, along with Silverpaw and Raggedpaw's. She opened her eyes and lifted her head, blinking blearily at her mother and Mothwhisker — the both of them were standing near the entrance of camp. Sunpaw twitched one of her ears, wondering where her own mentor was, but she got to her paws and shook out her pelt without complaint. Silverpaw followed her lead, and with a bit of prodding, Raggedpaw was up as well, and the three made their way towards the pair of warriors.

Mothwhisker smiled at Sunpaw once they reached them. "Wildbreeze is out on a patrol, investigating the scents everyone's been talking about," she explained. "So she's having us train you for the day."

Sunpaw nodded her acceptance. Without another word, Molebelly turned and led the way out of the cave, and the other four cats followed after her. Her amber eyes narrowed against the wind as she enjoyed the feel of it combing through her fur, her pelt fluffing as she made her way after the warriors.

"I hope we're doing battle training!" Silverpaw meowed.

"I thought you wanted to hunt?" Raggedpaw asked. He went ignored.

"I bet that I could beat both of you, at the same time!"

"We're four moons older than you," Sunpaw pointed out.

"So? That doesn't mean I couldn't!"

"Maybe once you're older," Raggedpaw told her in a purr.

"What?" Silverpaw pressed, lifting her chin. "You don't even want to _try_?"

Raggedpaw tilted his head and hummed, as if he was carefully considering the motion. "No," he decided. "I think we can save you the humiliation."

"_Hey_!"

The tom only laughed at her, flicking his tail behind him as he bounded forward to catch up with his mentor and mother. Silverpaw turned her head to look at Sunpaw.

"_You're_ on my side, aren't you?" she asked, ice blue eyes wide and pleading.

Sunpaw gave a slow shrug of her shoulders. "Well…"

"_Sunpaw_!" Silverpaw complained. "That's _mean_! _You're_ mean!"

Sunpaw offered the younger cat a smile. "I know." With that, she trotted forward to join Raggedpaw, holding her head high as she went.

* * *

The place where the warriors led the apprentices was a familiar one. It was the only area on the top half of the mountain that had any grass, making it a perfect place to train and for herbs to grow — Sunpaw could think of more than one occasion when Petalnose and Windleaf would wake all of the apprentices and bring them here, collecting all of the herbs they could before their mentors would bring them here and accidentally trample them during their training.

Molebelly announced, "We'll be practicing how to fight against birds of prey, today."

Mothwhisker asked, "What's the first lesson an apprentice learns?"

"Never forget to look up," all three answered.

"Exactly," Mothwhisker mewed with a sharp nod. "It's something small, but it saves lives everyday."

"Even the smallest of things can mean the difference between life and death," Molebelly added. One of her ears twitched as the wind howled, but she didn't raise her voice for the apprentices to hear her; they didn't need her to. "Now, you'll learn how to defend yourselves against them, rather than just watching for them — especially you, Silverpaw."

Silverpaw shuffled her paws nervously. "You don't think I'm too young to learn it, Molebelly?" she asked. "I mean, Raggedpaw and Sunpaw have been training for _moons_ — they've probably already started learning!"

"You have talents they don't," Molebelly informed casually.

Silverpaw blinked wide eyes at her, ears flicking back against her head, but didn't argue any further.

"First," Molewhisker went on, "we have to practice leaping. Raggedpaw, I know that you need to practice that, and Molebelly tells me that you do too, Sunpaw." The young tortoiseshell's ears twitched and warmed in embarrassment at the comment, but she didn't protest.

"Silverpaw, you go first," Molebelly ordered. "I want you to leap into the air as high as you can."

Silverpaw nodded her head, falling into a crouch. Her eyes narrowed in concentration, then she sprang up, flying several fox-lengths into the air before she landed gracefully on her paws, her tail swishing a few times behind her.

Molebelly gave a slow nod of her head. "The leap itself is fine," she told her apprentice, "but we'll have to change things for this technique to work. You'll have to find a target to leap for instead of just springing into the air, for one thing."

Silverpaw nodded again. "Yes, Molebelly."

"Raggedpaw," Mothwhisker meowed, "you try. Remember, turn in the air to land on your paws."

He looked embarrassed at the reminder, but he nodded his head anyways. Silverpaw moved to return to Sunpaw's side, but she was cowed at a look from Molebelly and returned to her own practice. Sunpaw watched as her brother crouched and sprang — when he landed, he had to take a heartbeat to catch his balance.

"Try again," Mothwhisker demanded. "Use your tail to maintain balance in the air, and then when you'll land you'll stay balanced."

"Don't just watch, Sunpaw," Molebelly called.

She nodded her head, then dropped into a couch then leapt into the air, as if she was leaping for a large bird. Her tail swished behind her to keep her balance, and when she hit the ground it was an easily landing on all four paws.

"Good," Mothwhisker praised. "Keep working on it until you don't have to concentrate on it."

"Yes, Mothwhisker," Sunpaw replied.

They spent the rest of the day like that. Surprisingly, Silverpaw was the one who picked it up the fastest (though, she supposed that her mother wouldn't have included her if she didn't think she wouldn't do well), and unsurprisingly, Raggedpaw took the most time. Sunpaw was told _don't let go until it starts to fly off_, even though she wasn't sure how that would help her, and the subtler aspects of her technique were corrected.

On the way back to camp, Silverpaw caught a rabbit, and she quickly went to deposit it on the fresh-kill pile. From the edge of the cave, near the tunnel-entrance of the disused elders' den, Wildbreeze gave her apprentice a silent summon with a flick of her tail. Sunpaw padded over to her, dipping her head in a wordless, respectful greeting.

"How was training?" the older tortoiseshell questioned.

"Good," Sunpaw informed. "Mom and Mothwhisker had us practice attacking birds of prey, and I learned a lot."

Wildbreeze gave a slight nod and let out a small hum. "Raventalon is putting us on the dawn patrol tomorrow. Be ready for it."

"Yes, Wildbreeze," Sunpaw meowed, dipping her head to her mentor. She moved to pad off and join someone else, but stopped herself, looking back up at the other she-cat. "Did you find out anything about the scents?" she asked.

Wildbreeze shook her head. "Nothing substantial," she told her. "But their scent led past the border, so they must have left."

Sunpaw nodded. With one last dip of her head, she trotted off to join Shadowstep from where she was settling down near the Tall Rock, a rabbit lying at her paws.


	5. four

It was the sound of a shrill yowl that woke Sunpaw from her sleep. She leapt to her paws with no hesitation, her head snapping around to watch as a group of cats that she had never seen before rushed into the cave as if it was theirs. Any sleep that might have been lingering in her system left it, and she unsheathed her claws and leapt for the closest cat, delivering a hard blow to their muzzle.

The light brown, brindled tabby she-cat lifted a paw, swiping it towards her head. Her eyes — one amber, one green — where narrowed and her face was contorted into a snarl, a hiss leaving her mouth. Sunpaw ducked before the blow could make contact and rushed forward, throwing her backwards with a blow from her shoulder that hit the other cat in the chest.

Before the tabby could get to her paws, another cat slammed into Sunpaw's side, and she whirled to face her attacker. He was tall — taller than any MountainClan cat, and he was covered in a shade of red fur that matched the color of a sunset. His flanks, back, head, and tail were covered in ticked tabby markings, and his eyes were a bright green. Quickly, he swept his forepaws out from under her.

Sunpaw rolled with the movement and got back to her paws. He lifted a paw and slashed at her face, but she dug her fangs into her paw as hard as she could and pulled him forward just as hard, sending him off-balance and making him land harshly on the rock floor of camp.

Raggedpaw leapt (from where, she didn't know) and pinned down the stranger. A cut above his eye was dripping blood, and he had to blink constantly to see clearly. "I've got him, Sunpaw!" he yowled to her. Sunpaw nodded her head in response, turning and leaping for a cat that was moving to attack Shadowstep, who was already occupied with her own opponent.

She landed neatly on the she-cat's back, digging her claws into the black fur and flesh there. Sunpaw's eyes widened slightly when she caught sight of the impressive length of her claws, but she couldn't gape for long, because the cat was turning her over and crushing her under her weight. She gasped for air until Shadowstep (apparently done fighting her own enemy) kicked the other black she-cat off of her.

"You okay?" the warrior asked as Sunpaw climbed to her paws.

"Yeah," Sunpaw panted. She leapt backwards when the black she-cat leapt for her, but she wasn't able to avoid her long claws as they scored across her shoulder. Shadowstep lunged for her, her claws digging into her, and the two rolled across the ground in a mass off tearing fur and spilling blood and drawn-out hissing.

The next cat that leapt for her landed on her back. Sunpaw stumbled, sending the cat falling to the stone ground with a groan of pain, but he was quickly clambering back to his feet. He was a large cat — large enough that he should have easily pinned her to the ground in one go, but Sunpaw had been trained to stay on her paws no matter what; it was a necessity in the mountains, where a misstep could mean injury and a trip could mean worse — with blue-gray fur and narrowed golden eyes. He leapt for her, but Sunpaw easily crouched to avoid it. She jumped upwards, her paws crashing against his belly and sending him flying, his narrowed golden eyes widened a fraction.

Sunpaw assumed that he hadn't been expecting to go that high into the air. When he landed on the ground, he landed harshly, and he coughed as he tried to get his air back.

A familiar tom emerged from the crowd of battling cats, forming a barrier between Sunpaw and the blue-gray tom. He looked to be the same cat that had attacked her when the battle first started — taller than any MountainClan cat, ruddy ticked tabby fur, bright green eyes — but she could tell that he was different; if not for the way that there was no wound in the paw she'd bitten, but in the way he smirked at her where his counterpart hadn't.

He sped forward, digging his fangs into her scruff and throwing her. She skidded against the stone floor, rolling back to her paws. When he pounced for her, she dodged, and once his hindleg was close enough she reached forward, bit down, and refused to let go. He turned, using a forepaw to scratch at her muzzle and tried to kick her off, but she didn't move. Instead, she used one of her own hindlegs to kick him in the chest. He tugged on his leg harshly, ripping it from her grip. Before she could get back to her paws, he whirled around and pinned her.

"Looks like I win." She could _hear_ the smirk in his voice.

She let out an irritated growl, her claws scraping against stone, but she froze and her blood went cold at the sound of an ear-splitting yowl. She could feel the cat above her stiffen, too, and she snapped her head around to look at the source of the noise.

A gray tabby she-cat leapt away from the cat she was fighting with, her copper eyes wide and filled with terror. She rammed an unfamiliar calico to the ground, one whose muzzle was stained with crimson, and she moved away willingly, albeit on unsteady paws — moving like a strong breeze could knock her over. The tabby buried her face into a pale gray, limp shape, and above it already was a pale brown, shelled tom with ice blue eyes that was staring down at it with wide, unseeing ice blue eyes.

_Silverpaw…_ Sunpaw realized. _Where's the medicine cats, why isn't anyone getting the medicine cats?!_ She would have gotten up and done it herself, but she couldn't move, and the cat pinning her had nothing to do with it. She didn't notice the silence — oh, the _silence_ — that filled the cave.

Silverpaw's flanks were rising and falling shallowly. She looked up at her mother, lifting her head slightly and plastering a smile on her face before her head fell and her eyes closed, like breathing was taking up all of her energy.

"I-I'm sorry," the calico stuttered. "I didn't mean— I'm—"

She didn't get to finish before the shelled brown tom leapt for her, his claws extended. They collided with a screech, but Goldenice didn't get a chance to rip into her before a red-and-black tom made his way forward and almost idly shoved him away with a shove of his shoulder. Goldenice lifted a paw and scratched his muzzle, and the tom reared onto his hindpaws and boxed his ears.

"_Enough_!" A sharp voice yowled.

From the crowd, a silver-and-black she-cat shouldered her way through Clanmate and stranger alike. Maybe it was the look in her green eyes, or the way she carried herself, or the _rage_ on her face, but no one questioned her or dared to stop her as she went. She stopped next to the family of three, murmuring something that Sunpaw was too far away to hear, but she could see Graythorn nodding her head and Goldenice copying the action a heartbeat later.

The silver-and-black she-cat didn't waste any time after that. She tilted her head back to look at the ceiling of the cave and intoned, "I ask my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. She has learned the Warrior Code and given up her life in service of her Clan. Let StarClan receive her as a warrior." Featherstar looked back down at Silverpaw — was she even still breathing? Sunpaw couldn't tell. "She will be known as Silverstone, for the mountain she died defending."

There was no cheering, not like there would have been during a normal warrior ceremony. Sunpaw closed her eyes and prayed that Silverstone had cats like her birth parents and her grandmother, cats who she'd heard so many stories about, to guide her once she reached StarClan.

She only half-realized that the cat pinning her down was stepping off of her.

Featherstar stepped away from the family and faced the crowd in front of her. Silently, a black tom with ice blue eyes moved to stand by her side. "Which of you is charge?" she demanded, her tail lashing from side to side behind her.

"I am," a voice mewed after a moment. The group of invaders parted for the cat as he passed them. He was massive — the same size as a MountainClan cat, but with the same ruddy fur and tabby patterning as the two cats she had fought. He stopped in front of the calico and red-furred tom, as if he was making a barrier between his cats and the MountainClan ones, and he didn't look intimidated in the least by the snarling Clan leader in front of him.

"We didn't come here to kill cats. This—" He looked over at Silverstone and her parents, "—was never supposed to happen."

"But it _did_," Featherstar snapped. When she continued, it was in a voice that was terrifyingly calm, and she punctuated each statement with a step forward. Sunpaw felt some satisfaction at the flicker of fear she saw on the strange tom's face. "You've trespassed on our territory. You've attacked us. You've killed one of our apprentices." She shoved her muzzle into his face. "What do you want from us?" she growled, slowly and carefully pronouncing each word.

He took a deep breath, then spoke. "We're from a group called the Coyotes," he meowed — not just to Featherstar, but to the whole of MountainClan, "and we need more cats. Now that we've taken you over, we're going to take you back to our territory."

Growls and snarls of disapproval rose up from the MountainClanners, some of which were allowed to linger and some of which were quickly quieted by the invaders. "We're not going to fight back?!" one voice snarled. Sunpaw turned her head to look at the blue-gray tabby she-cat who had spoken. Her blue eyes were full of the same angry fire that her leader and deputy's had been.

"We're outnumbered, Bluewing," Raventalon meowed from his place beside Featherstar. "We're not going to risk another Silverstone." At the mention of her niece, Bluewing's ears flicked back against her head.

Featherstar's eyes scanned the crowd until they landed on the chocolate tortoiseshell, still on the ground. "Sunpaw," she called. "Get Petalnose and Windleaf."

Glad to have a task, Sunpaw nodded her head, rising to her paws and bounding towards the medicine den and nursery tunnel. She wanted to get away from the foreigners as fast as possible, and she was glad to have an excuse to do so. She followed the tunnel that led to the medicine den with her whiskers, almost bumping into a worried-smelling Petalnose.

The medicine cat let out a muffled sigh, as if it was through herbs. Sunpaw sniffed at the air again and decided that it was, catching onto Windleaf's scent as well. "What do you want, Sunpaw?" she asked, muffled, annoyed, and stressed.

"The battle's over," Sunpaw informed. "...Silverstone's dead. We lost."

The medicine cats were silent. Sunpaw wished that she could see their reactions to the news. "Lilyclaw's kitting," Petalnose told her, making her blink in surprise. "Windleaf, you go and prepare Silverstone for her vigil and start treating cats. Sunpaw, you take his herbs — you're coming with me."

"I'm _what_?" Sunpaw asked, eyes widening. "But I'm not—"

"I know!" Petalnose snapped. "Just follow my orders and you'll be fine. Or distract Hawkfeather's kits, if you can't handle it."

Petalnose brushed passed her; she caught a glimpse of pale ginger fur and bright blue eyes. Windleaf set his bundle of herbs at her paws. "Good luck," he mewed to her, before he turned and headed back towards his own den.

Sunpaw picked up the bundle before she rushed to catch up with Petalnose. Already, she was inside the nursery — once she joined her, she found Dawnkit and Flightkit huddled together in the corner, Hawkfeather curled around them and giving the both of them long, soothing licks across their ears and the tops of their heads and their backs. Lilyclaw was lying in her nest, claws sheathing and unsheathing and scrabbling at the moss. She lifted her head to look at Petalnose and Sunpaw, confusion on her face when she spotted the apprentice.

"Sunpaw?" she questioned. "Where's Windleaf?"

"Is the battle over?" Dawnkit asked from the corner, her voice quiet, as if she was scared that if she brought too much attention to herself an invader would come running to the nursery. "It sounded scary."

Sunpaw's ears drooped and she didn't answer.

She followed Petalnose to Lilyclaw's nest, setting down her herbs. The queen's face scrunched up in pain, then it relaxed. "Give her the stick," Petalnose ordered. Sunpaw did so, and Lilyclaw gave the medicine cat a questioning look. "Bite down on that when the contractions come." She nodded, taking it in her teeth. Petalnose lifted a paw and set a gentle paw on the other she-cat's belly.

"Sunpaw, can we go outside now?" Flightkit asked.

"No," Sunpaw responded, looking over at the two kits and giving a small shake of her head.

Hawkfeather's ears flicked back. "What happened?"

"Silverstone…"

The tabby queen frowned. "Silver_stone_?"

Petalnose nodded. "She's with StarClan, now." Lilyclaw's eyes widened, looking to Sunpaw for confirmation. She could only nod her head. "Push, Lilyclaw!" the ginger she-cat demanded. The queen hesitated for a heartbeat, but quickly complied. A small, wet bundle fell into the nest, and the medicine cat dipped her head towards the kit. She pushed it towards Hawkfeather gently, and her kits looked at the newborn with wide, fascinated eyes.

"You remember what to do, I assume?"

The queen didn't bother answering. Instead, she dipped her head, licking the kit's fur the wrong way as quick as she could until it let out a mewl. Then, her licking calmed, turning into long, soothing strokes of her tongue.

It felt like an eternity before Petalnose ordered Lilyclaw to push again, and even longer before another kit was born. This one she pushed to Sunpaw. "You saw what Hawkfeather did," she told her. Sunpaw nodded, dipping her head to frantically lick at the kit's fur like the tabby queen had before her. It didn't take long for the kit to let out a loud mewl, and once it had, Sunpaw's licking slowed.

She didn't notice when the last kit was born. Her ears perked as a new mewl rose from the kit that Petalnose was grooming, and she watched as Hawkfeather and the medicine cat placed their kits at Lilyclaw's belly. Sunpaw quickly did the same, gently setting the russet-colored kit next to their siblings. She turned her head to examine the other two.

All three were smaller than Sunpaw could imagine herself ever being. Their fur was unbelievably fluffy, and their ears pointed out of the fluff like little thorns. One of the kits was pure white, while the last was tortoiseshell-and-white. All three were furiously kneading at their mother's belly, eager for their mother's milk. Lilyclaw was looking at all three of them like they made up the entirety of her world.

"Congradulations, Lilyclaw," Petalnose offered, sounding tired. "You have one son and two daughters."

Absently, Lilyclaw nodded her head.

Petalnose turned her head to look at Sunpaw. "Go tell the Clan," she ordered. "They'll need some good news." Sunpaw nodded her head, but she paused to get one last look at the kits and give Lilyclaw her own congradulations (she wondered if the queen actually heard her) before bounding out of the nursery and through the tunnel.

Once she was outside, it felt like every eye in the main cavern turned to her — even the ones belonging to the invaders. Every cat looked anxious for the news she had to share, and she took in a deep breath of the fresh air before she yowled, "A tom and two she-kits!"

Usually, it would be a cause for celebration, but like with Silverstone's ceremony, there was no cheering. Still, it was like a weight was lifted from her and her Clanmates' shoulders, a light back in their eyes that hadn't been there when she'd disappeared into the tunnels, and to Sunpaw, that was enough.


	6. five

The Coyotes wanted to get back to their home as soon as possible, but they couldn't make a queen with newborn kits travel. Red Dusk, the cat that led his cats to attack MountainClan, had decided to stay behind with a tom named Storm Chaser and his apprentice (_Softpaw_, she had been corrected) Wren Flight — who turned out to be the large blue-gray tom that had attacked her. Petalnose was also staying behind to watch over her patients, and Raventalon was being allowed to linger as well. Every other cat was leaving.

Raggedpaw carried Flightkit in his jaws, and Hawkfeather carried Dawnkit. As much as Sunpaw wanted to be with him, she wouldn't be able to talk with him when he had a scruff in his teeth, so she walked with Shadowstep instead. She was just as sullen as she was, but for slightly different reasons — they were both grieving Silverstone's passing, but Shadowstep had to leave her father behind until Lilyclaw's kits were old enough to travel.

On either side of them were the two ruddy tabby toms that the apprentice had fought — twins, they called themselves. Sunpaw wondered if they thought they were going to run.

"You two look just about as happy as a kit in the Healer's den," the cockier of the two commented.

"Or an elder at any time of day," the calmer of the pair added.

Sunpaw flattened her ears.

"A kit caught sneaking out of camp?" the tom who pinned her down suggested.

"A mouse that just got caught," the first tom she fought decided.

Silence covered the air around the four as they walked down the mountain. Far in front of her, Sunpaw could see Featherstar leading the group with a tall (but not as tall as the twins) tortoiseshell tom at her side. Every step she took felt like torture. She _loved_ the mountain, and she didn't want to leave it — it was all she knew. She'd only ever been to the base of the mountain once, when Windleaf was still Windpaw and wanted her to come with to gather herbs with him, and now she was being brought away to somewhere where there would be no stone or harsh winds or birds of prey or being so much closer to the clouds and breathing the clean mountain air.

"Hiding Hawk, I'd say these two are ignoring us!" the cockier tom sounded affronted at the realization.

"Why, yes, Nimble Crow, I have to agree," Hiding Hawk mewed, nodding his head firmly once.

"Well, that's just rude," Nimble Crow complained.

"It's not like we're dragging them away from their home, or anything," Hiding Hawk agreed. His tone was irritated, and the MountainClan cats lifted their heads in surprise, blinking at the tom.

"...You sound like you're not okay with it," Sunpaw mewed slowly after a moment of hesitation.

"She speaks!" Nimble Crow cheered.

"A miracle!" Hiding Hawk crowed.

"Answer the question," Shadowstep growled, baring her teeth at the tom closest to her — which happened to be Hiding Hawk.

"Impatient, aren't you?" Hiding Hawk asked.

"Patience is a virtue," Nimble Crow put in, as if it was a reminder.

Shadowstep let out another wordless growl.

"_But_," he continued, "no, we're not. Most of us aren't."

"Sunlit Claw decided that we needed more Sharpclaws, and you were unlucky enough to be close to us," Hiding Hawk explained.

"Sunlit Claw?" Sunpaw asked.

"Our Monarch," Hiding Hawk told her.

"And our—" Nimble Crow's tail flicked between himself and his twin, "—mother."

"So?" Shadowstep asked.

The two looked at her as if she'd just asked them if the sky was blue. "_So_?" they echoed.

"That makes us Seconds!" Nimble Crow informed — not that Sunpaw knew what that meant.

"Don't you have a rank for Featherstar's kits?" Hiding Hawk asked.

"Featherstar doesn't _have_ kits," Sunpaw told them.

"But if she did," Nimble Crow mewed.

Sunpaw shook her head while Shadowstep spoke. "They'd probably get experienced warriors as mentors, or the deputy," Shadowstep thought. "But that's it."

"Then who takes over when Featherstar dies?" Nimble Crow asked.

"Raventalon," Sunpaw meowed. "Or whoever else is deputy at the time."

"But Featherstar won't die for a long time," Shadowstep put in, confident, then added, "Well… not _completely_, anyways."

The toms narrowed their eyes and shared a glance, but they didn't say anything. Sunpaw wondered if they were only getting more confused as her and Shadowstep continued speaking, because she felt that way the more they talked.

"You know," Nimble Crow meowed, breaking the silence that had begun to settle over the four, "I don't believe I know your names."

"I'm Shadowstep," the warrior introduced. "And this—" she gestured with a lackluster flick of her tail, "—is Sunpaw."

Hiding Hawk shook his head. "I don't think I understand how your naming system works. Those kits up there—" he jerked his head towards Raggedpaw, Hawkfeather, and the brown tabby's kits, all of which were farther ahead in the crowd of MountainClanners, "—were all something-kit, and you're the second -paw we know of."

If they were confused, Sunpaw decided, then they were doing a good job of powering through it to try and understand. That, at least, was something she could respect.

"I'm Sun_paw_ because I'm an apprentice," she explained. "Once I'm a warrior, my name will change."

"To Sunstorm," Shadowstep suggested. "Or Sunpelt, maybe."

"So -kit is for kits?" Nimble Crow asked.

Sunpaw nodded her head. "And -star is for leaders."

"Is that like StarClan?" Nimble Crow questioned.

Sunpaw turned her head to blink up at him, surprised, but nodded again. "Exactly like StarClan."

Silence settled over the four of them again.

Nimble Crow and Hiding Hawk were finding out about MountainClan, but Sunpaw didn't want to learn more about the Coyotes. She didn't want to find out about the group that she was being forced to join — they'd attacked her Clan, they'd _killed_ Silverstone. But the toms she was walking with seemed to be alright cats, at least, and she'd have to learn about them soon enough. Maybe it would be better for her to just get it over with, but she couldn't bring herself to ask.

Shadowstep did it for her.

"So…" she began, "to you, warriors are Sharpclaws, and apprentices are Softpaws?"

Hiding Hawk nodded his head. "Yeah," he mewed. "Other than the names, they seem the same."

"What about medicine cats?"

"I guess those are Healers, but we have more of them than you do."

Sunpaw flicked an ear. "The Monarch is the leader," she began, to which the twins nodded their heads in agreement, "And you're Seconds — the Monarch's kits."

"Go on, ask!" Hiding Hawk encouraged, smiling at her.

She didn't ask, because her eyes had drifted to the sky. She stopped, ignoring the confused _wh_— that came from the toms as she crouched. Shadowstep quickly followed her gaze and copied her actions, and they sprang together, their claws digging into the hawk's wings. It tried to beat them and get away, but with two cats weighing it down it found itself pulled to the ground instead. From in front of them, a russet tom leapt onto the back of the bird, helping the two she-cats drag it to the ground. Once it was pinned and killed, he helped prop the bird onto Shadowstep and Sunpaw's backs, then they continued onwards.

"How did you _do_ that?" Nimble Crow asked, staring at her with wide eyes, his gaze drifting from the apprentice to the hawk on her and Shadowstep's backs.

"You saw how we did that," Sunpaw told him. "Falcons and eagles and hawks will attack us or other things we hunt, so we learned to hunt them instead and to fight them off."

Shadowstep lifted her chin. "The first thing a MountainClan apprentice learns is to never forget to look up."

"With so many cats here, it probably thought it could find an easy meal," Sunpaw offered. "No one said that hawks were smart."

Nimble Crow snorted. Hiding Hawk glared at him.

"Anyways," Sunpaw continued, "if the Monarch's kits take over after the Monarch dies, then does that mean that one of you is next in line to be Monarch?"

Nimble Crow gave her an incredulous look, as if he was saying _you want to talk about __that?_ — which, if he'd never seen anyone catch a bird of prey before, she supposed was fair; but she didn't think it should have garnered that much of a reaction.

It was Hiding Hawk that answered. "Nope, that's the Heir."

"The oldest kit," Nimble Crow clarified after a heartbeat. "His name's Golden Whiskers."

"But if Golden Whiskers dies, then that means that Red Dusk would be Heir—"

"—And if he's gone, then it would be Whispering Dew—" he pointed towards the tortoiseshell tom walking beside Featherstar with his muzzle.

"—Then me!"

"Good for you," Shadowstep mewed. Sunpaw could hear the silent _I guess_ that followed, but she decided not to comment on it. "What do Seconds even do, anyways?"

"Boring things," the toms mewed together.

"Organize patrols," Nimble Crow meowed with a shudder.

"Help our parents and Golden Whiskers lead," Hiding Hawk added, looking disgusted.

Sunpaw let out a small hum. "Like a deputy, then," she mewed.

"You mean Crowtalon does it all on his _own_?" Nimble Crow asked, his eyes wide.

"_Raven_talon," Shadowstep corrected. "And Featherstar does most of the leading, he just does all the patrols by himself."

"That sounds _exhausting_," Hiding Hawk mewed, flicking his tail behind him.

"Leading isn't exactly meant to be easy, is it?" Sunpaw asked.

The two glanced at each other, then shrugged their shoulders. "Guess not," they meowed.

"Just glad we won't be Monarch," Nimble Crow commented. His brother nodded his agreement, and silence settled once more.


	7. six

Sunpaw had never seen the lake up close before, nor had she felt such soft grass under her paws. She'd heard stories about both — how the water appeared calm and peaceful at all times and small ripples would only disturb the smooth surface for a short but beautiful amount of time; how it wasn't the freshest water a cat would ever taste, but came as a close second to the mountain streams. How the grass was soft enough to sleep on without a nest, fed by the water of the lake, and just how _green_ it was. She'd never seen so many flowers before, either, scattered around the ground and poking out of the stalks.

It was outside of her territory, though, and MountainClan had no interest in leaving their home.

Until now (and she thought that calling it an _interest_ was beyond an exaggeration).

"I don't know why they'd choose to live on the mountain when they have _this_ right here!" a cat yowled. Sunpaw turned her head, eyes narrowed as they landed on a tom that she could practically _feel_ Shadowstep call handsome. His golden fur was long and silky, his eyes were a beautiful shade of blue, and his ears were heavily tufted. He sat next to the shore of the lake, next to the red-and-black tom from the cave, so close that their fur brushed against each other's.

"Those are Ginger Rush and Dark Scorpion," Hiding Hawk offered, flicking an ear towards the pair.

"Ginger Rush sometimes doesn't know how loud he's being," Nimble Crow added.

Sunpaw nodded, but that didn't make her feel any better.

"_Sunpaw_!" a cat called. She turned her head to look at Raggedpaw, who was sitting next to Hawkfeather. His ears were flat against his head, and his eyes were narrowed into slits as he looked at her. The queen was lying by the shore, her kits resting beside her — it looked as if they were attempted to shelter in her fur.

"Who's that?" Nimble Crow asked.

"That's Raggedpaw," Shadowstep answered. "Sunpaw's brother."

"Maybe we can give the hawk to Hawkfeather and her kits?" Sunpaw suggested. The warrior nodded, and the two began padding over to the pair. Sunpaw gave a short wave of her tail to the twins as she left them, only to be polite.

The two she-cats carefully set down the hawk in front of the queen. "Here you go, Hawkfeather," Sunpaw meowed, dipping her head to the tabby. In return, Hawkfeather smiled her thanks at her, then turned her attention to her kits and nudged them towards the bird. Sunpaw flicked her tail in a silent goodbye to Shadowstep as Hawkfeather urged her kits to start plucking feathers from their meal, then went to join Raggedpaw.

"What're you doing, talking to _them_?" he hissed, keeping his voice low so they wouldn't be overheard.

Sunpaw glanced over her shoulder at Nimble Crow and Hiding Hawk. "You mean those two?" she asked.

"Who else?"

"They don't seem to be that bad," Sunpaw told him. "I learned a bit about where we're going, and I think that they wanted to learn about MountainClan."

"They _attacked_ us," Raggedpaw growled. "They're making us leave! They're the reason Silverstone's dead!"

Sunpaw's ears flicked back against her skull. "I know," she meowed. "I'm not mad at _them_ for it — I'm mad at _her_." Her claws dug into the soft earth, so different from the unforgiving stone of the mountain, at the thought of the calico. She grit her teeth at the thought of the blood that had stained her muzzle, at the way she had the gall to _apologize_ — like it was something that she could just _apologize_ for and everything would be okay.

Raggedpaw gave a firm nod of approval. "Come on, we should sleep," he meowed. Sunpaw took a deep breath, consciously sheathed her claws, and nodded her agreement. He got to his paws and started padding off; Sunpaw hurried to follow after him. He led the way towards a part of the shore that no one else had already claimed, and the two of them laid down in the soft grass, pressing their flanks together as they were so used to doing — but it still felt so much colder without Silverstone to warm her other side.

* * *

No matter how much Sunpaw shook out her pelt, the blades of grass that had tangled themselves into her fur refused to detach themselves from her coat. She dipped her head and began to carefully groom her fur, picking out every piece of green she came across. Beside her, she could see and hear Raggedpaw doing the same.

"Good morning!" someone greeted. Sunpaw lifted her head, blinking up at Nimble Crow and Hiding Hawk (though, she couldn't tell which was which).

"Are you ready for another fine day of traveling?" one asked, grinning and casual even as Raggedpaw growled at him. From what little she knew of the two, Sunpaw was going to guess that this one was Nimble Crow. Hiding Hawk seemed just as relaxed as his brother, but the look on his face told Sunpaw that he was on his guard.

"How far away is your territory?" Sunpaw asked.

"Not too far," Hiding Hawk assured. "We should get to our camp by the end of the day."

Sunpaw nodded her head, just as another voice asked, "Who're they?" The pair of tall toms turned their heads to look at the two new cats.

They both appeared to be Sunpaw and Raggedpaw's age, and both were tortoiseshells. The tom was taller than the apprentices, but not as tall as Nimble Crow and Hiding Hawk. His chest, belly, paws, part of one of his hind leg, and sections of his tail were white, and his eyes were green. The she-cat was smaller than Sunpaw, the white in her fur more scattered and with the same green eyes as the tom.

"Well," Nimble Crow began, flicking his tail towards Sunpaw, "we'll be keeping this one to ourselves, but you can have the other one."

"What?" Sunpaw mewed, narrowing her eyes up at him. "No one's going to be _keeping_ me."

"Simplification," Hiding Hawk brushed off, taking a few steps towards her and nudging her to her paws with his shoulders. "If we let you talk with the other Seconds, then we'll _never_ get to spend time with you."

"_Other_ Seconds?" Sunpaw asked, her eyes going back to the pair of tortoiseshells — the tom was narrowing his eyes at her, as if he was inspecting her. "How many kits do your parents _have_?"

"Seven," the twins answered together, and Sunpaw gaped at them.

"What's so special about _her_?" the tortoiseshell tom asked, perfectly judgemental. His sister glared at him before Sunpaw could feel offended, and he turned to blink at her as if he was confused.

"No need to be jealous, Shy Tiger," Nimble Crow told him as Sunpaw was herded forward by Hiding Hawk. "I'm sure you'll find yourself a she-cat to hang out with, someday." Shy Tiger growled at him as he fell instep with Sunpaw and Hiding Hawk, but they were moving off before he could respond.

"Have fun with Raggedpaw, you two!" Hiding Hawk called over his shoulder, waving his tail to his siblings.

"A she-cat to hang out with?" Sunpaw echoed, incredulous.

Hiding Hawk nodded his head seriously. "We have to give him hope," he told her.

"Even if it will never be fulfilled," Nimble Crow added, just as serious. Sunpaw's whiskers twitched in amusement.

"He's that hopeless?" she questioned.

"You heard him," Hiding Hawk pointed out. She thought for a heartbeat, then nodded; she couldn't imagine a cat that said things like that charming any she-cats (or toms, for that matter). He continued, "We'll be leaving soon — want to go hunting?"

Nimble Crow nodded his head. It took Sunpaw a moment to realize that they were waiting for her to respond, too, so she mewed, "That'd be best."

"We could probably find something in the forest," Nimble Crow suggested. When no arguments were raised, he steered their small group in that direction, only pausing when Graythorn crossed their path with a fish in her jaws. Both toms gave her a low dip of their heads, making the warrior and Sunpaw share a confused look; the tabby she-cat seemed to shake it off, though, and padded off towards Goldenice and set the fish at her mate's paws.

"What was that for?" Sunpaw asked, glancing between the brothers. They returned her look, but they were surprised rather than confused.

"That cat that died, Silverstone," Hiding Hawk mewed, "Graybush was her mother, right?"

"Gray_thorn_," Sunpaw corrected, but she nodded her head all the same.

"Cats always say that losing a kit is the worst pain a cat could go through," Nimble Crow explained, his voice quiet, as if he was worried about Graythorn over hearing them. "In all the stories we heard—" _Stories?_ Sunpaw wondered; she'd never heard any _stories_ about it — it wasn't something that cats wanted to think about, but it was often a reality on the mountain, "—all the parents would rather die in their kit's place, but obviously they can't do _that_. So the least we could do is respect a parent's loss."

Sunpaw gave a slow nod of her head. She supposed that it made sense, and it was even a nice thought, but it still seemed strange to her. Nimble Crow gave her a nudge, and they set off for the forest once more.

When they passed the treeline they split up. Sunpaw opened her jaws to taste the air, catching onto an unfamiliar prey scent. She trailed after it carefully, mindful of the twigs that littered the forest floor, and once she was close enough she dropped into a the underbrush she could see some long-bodied thing with brown fur — darker on its legs and paler on its face. She stalked closer, closer, closer, until she was about to pounce...

_Snap_!

The thing's head lifted up, and it skittered off and disappeared into the forest.

"Oh, sorry," one of the twins — Hiding Hawk? — meowed, his head poking out of the undergrowth ahead of her. "Were you hunting that marten?"

Sunpaw stood up straight. "Is that what it was?"

He blinked at her. "You've never seen a _marten_ before?"

She shook her head. "We don't have them on the mountain."

"Huh." He flicked an ear, then padded off in search of more prey. Sunpaw watched him go for a moment, then went to continue her own hunt.

Her walk was slow, pausing to sniff at unfamiliar flowers or admire the way the sun filtered through the leaves of the trees. She breathed in the unfamiliar forest air, her tail swaying behind her as she went. It was very different from the mountain, that much was obvious, but that didn't mean that the forest _itself_ was awful; even if her circumstances certainly were. She only paused when she came across another prey scent. It was far more familiar than the last one: mouse. She dropped into a crouch and stalked forward, her eyes narrowed and ears perked as she listened to it rustling around.

_Snap_!

She heard more than she saw the mouse rush off, and she sat up with an irritated _huff_, her ears flicking back against her skull.

"Bad luck," one of the twins commented, slinking out from in between the trees and grinning at her. Sunpaw narrowed her eyes at him, but she felt like she was starting to get a hold on how to tell the two of them apart: Nimble Crow always smiled at her. Right now, though, that wasn't important, because the both of them scaring off both of her potential catches couldn't be a coincidence.

"Sure," she mewed flatly, getting to her paws and stalked passed him. Nimble Crow watched as she went, his grin still in place.

The next potential catch she came across was also familiar: a chipmunk. She crouched and got close enough to pounce, then another _snap_! rang out, making it run off. Sunpaw stood, her tail lashing behind her in irritation.

"Again?"

Sunpaw snapped her head around to look at Hiding Hawk, who was frowning at her from over a bush, but his whiskers were twitching.

"_You_," she hissed, her eyes narrowing.

He blinked innocently at her. "Me?" He asked. "What did I do?"

Sunpaw opened her mouth, but she was too frustrated to say anything. Instead, she only growled wordlessly at him, whirling around and storming off into the forest.

The rest of the morning went on like that. Whenever she came across a new scent, Nimble Crow and Hiding Hawk would do their best to send it running. When it neared the end of the morning, and her belly rumbled with hunger, the two of them disappeared only to return with a marten and a squirrel in tow.

Nimble Crow set the marten down in front of her, then lifted his head and grinned. "Breakfast!" he announced. "It's big enough to share." Next to him, Hiding Hawk had already settled down with the squirrel.

Sunpaw only hesitated for a heartbeat — she hadn't hunted for the Clan yet, but they were traveling, so the rules must have been different, right? And she'd fed Hawkfeather and her kits last night, too, going to sleep hungry so that they could eat, and Graythorn and Goldenice had eaten, too.

"Thank you," she mewed, then dipped her head and took a bite out of the marten. It tasted juicy and earthen, and it reminded her a bit of vole.

Even as she enjoyed the new flavor the marten offered, there was a bitter taste at the back of her mouth that their playing had brought about: like they cared more about bothering her than they did that the Coyotes had just taken over her Clan.


	8. seven

Being in the forest was very different from seeing it from a distance, Sunpaw was learning. On the mountain, she could see the green of the leaves, how they changed color and fell and left the branches of the trees bare when the Stillwater came. When she was in it, however, she could hear the wind combing through the branches and listen to them brush together; could see the sunbeams breaking through cracks in the barrier of leaves above her head that kept her from seeing the sky; could see soft green moss covering the bottoms of trees and stones. Even the grass and plants were green — she'd never seen so much of the color in her life.

The twins seemed to notice her gawking.

"It's great, isn't it?" Nimble Crow asked her, holding his head high.

"Don't hold back on any praise, now!" Hiding Hawk added with a swish of his tail.

Shadowstep snorted from her place, between Sunpaw and Hiding Hawk. "It might be _pretty_," she conceded, "but _nothing_ compares to a sunrise on the mountain!"

Sunpaw nodded her agreement, and the toms looked almost betrayed.

The group slowed to a stop in front of two large boulders, coated thoroughly in moss. The two of them formed a narrow passageway that Sunpaw imagined the larger cats would have a bit of trouble squeezing through. The tom at Featherstar's side — his name was Whispering Dew, wasn't it? — turned to face the cats behind him.

"Only one cat can go through at a time," he announced, voice loud enough to echo off the trees and tone authoritative. He turned and slipped through the boulders, and Featherstar followed after him.

Having all the cats enter the camp was a slow process. Sunpaw watched as cat after cat slipped in between the rocks, and once the line reached her little group Nimble Crow stepped aside and dipped his head to her. "After you," he mewed, formal as could be. She rolled her eyes and slipped through the entrance, quickly emerging into the camp. She moved forward to join the MountainClan cats that were gathering at the center of the clearing before she looked around.

The area was large — the same size as the cave, even. At the center, where the Tall Rock would be in her own camp and quickly being surrounded by MountainClanners, was a big, thick-trunked tree. Thick, twisted branches sprouted from it, and she spotted a hole in the trunk as well as a gap in the large, knotted roots; maybe there was a den under the tree?

Whispering Dew moved gracefully through the Clan cats and easily climbed the tree, disappearing into the hole in the trunk. _So there's a den, there, too,_ Sunpaw thought.

Five cats — one of which looked like a Softpaw — sat in the entrance of a den, watching the newcomers closely. Her attention shifted back to the hollow under the tree when a white-and-gray tabby tomkit (he didn't look much older than Dawnkit or Flightkit, she thought) poked his head out of it. His hazel eyes were round with awe as he looked around at all the new cats in his camp, and he was quickly joined by a golden-furred she-kit, who shared his just-as-round hazel eyes. A golden-furred queen stuck her head out of the den, picking up the tom by his scruff and gently guiding the she-kit back into the safety of the den with her tail.

So that was the nursery. The other three dens — at least, the apprentice assumed that they were dens — looked more like tunnel entrances, to her, made of stone and covered with moss and ivy.

Whispering Dew emerged from the tree hollow with three other cats in tow. Only one of them was a she-cat, so Sunpaw assumed that she was Sunlit Claw. She was a tortoiseshell, like some of her kits were, with white patches in her fur like Shy Tiger and her daughter had. She looked quite a bit like her daughter, actually, but her eyes were hazel rather than green.

The other two were both ruddy ticked tabbies, like the rest of their family seemed to be. He had green eyes, and his fur was going gray around his muzzle. Next to him was a tom that wasn't nearly as large as Red Dusk had been but still large enough to be confused for a MountainClanner, sharing the other tom's green eyes.

"Cats of MountainClan!" the she-cat yowled. Every cat in the clearing turned their heads to look up at her. "My name is Sunlit Claw. This is my Heir, Golden Whiskers—" the younger tom dipped his head to the cats below him, "—and this is my Consort, Russet Pine." The older tom swished his tail.

"Consort?" Raggedpaw whispered. Sunpaw almost jumped — she hadn't noticed him slip into the open space next to her. "What's a Consort?"

She shrugged her shoulders.

"As I'm sure Red Dusk has already assured you, we didn't bring you here willingly," Sunlit Claw told them. "The other two Monarchies, the Wolves and the Foxes, grow larger and stronger while we remain the same. We needed to grow, and quickly. It was decided that we would add your numbers to ours — not only because of your proximity, but because if we failed in our fight against the Wolves and Foxes then they would move onto you next.

"We welcome you as friends, not as enemies. We don't wish to prevent you from practicing your culture or your… Code," she'd paused then, as if she'd had to search for the right word, "but we do ask that you act as if you are Coyotes in the presence of the other Monarchies."

Sunpaw's ears lowered. She didn't like how that sounded, not in the least, but at least she still had the chance of finishing her training the MountainClan way and earning her warrior name.

"Before we start with everything else, I would like to offer my condolences for the death of one of your warriors, Silverstone."

Sunpaw's ears perked at that, and her and Raggedpaw shared a glance.

"I cannot bring her back," Sunlit Claw continued, "but I can promise you that Forest Eater will be punished accordingly."

_Forest Eater… that must be the calico's name._ She felt some satisfaction that Silverstone's death wouldn't go unpunished or unnoticed by the Monarch, and it seemed like that sentiment was shared — soft, nigh hesitant sounds of approval rose up from the cats around her.

"Next, Featherstar." Sunlit Claw's eyes searched through the crowd. Featherstar got to her paws and stepped forward, and the cats of MountainClan moved to allow her to pass through. "I want you to be my advisor in all Clan matters. While you're here, you may not be able to be the leader that you're meant to be, but your advice, knowledge, and experiences won't go unnoticed."

Slowly, Featherstar nodded her head, but she said nothing. Sunlit Claw seemed to take that as enough of an answer, though, and turned her gaze to the crowd once more.

"Windleaf, Hawkfeather," she called, "step forward. Bring your kits with you."

Seemingly surprised that her name was mentioned, the brown-and-black tabby stepped forward wearily. Her kits were herded in front of her, the both of them looking up at the cats perched on the tree with a mix of confusion, awe, and fear. Windleaf stood next to the queen, his ears flicking constantly atop his head.

"I've decided to give you four new your names first."

At the protests that immediately rose from the Clan, Sunpaw's included among them, Sunlit Claw lifted her tail for silence. Once it was (begrudgingly) given to her, she continued.

"It's for protection," she explained. "Hawkfeather and her kits are safer the more they blend in. Medicine cats and Healers alike aren't trained to fight, so Windleaf will be safer with a name like ours, too." She paused for a moment. "You only need to use them when you're with the other Monarchies. Here, you may use your true names."

The Clan stayed silent, but Sunpaw had a bad taste in her mouth at the thought of having to use a name that wasn't her own. Sunlit Claw turned her attention back to the kits in front of her.

"Windleaf, you will be Wind Leaf. You can sleep in the Healers' den and act as one of them."

Windleaf blinked up at her, but his attention was drawn away by movement from the den where the five cats were gathered at the entrance — a silver tabby she-cat with amber eyes had risen to her paws, waving her tail to the tom and offering him a smile. With some hesitation, he moved to join her, settling down beside the tabby and looking back at the tree.

"Hawkfeather," Sunlit Claw continued, "you will be Hawk's Feather. Flightkit, you will be Sparrow Flight. Dawnkit, you will be Morning Light." The kits looked at each other, even more confusion on their faces at the names — especially Dawnkit's. "The Mother's den is below the tree. Feel free to ask Golden Tail any questions you have."

With that, Hawkfeather gently urged her kits along into the hollow under the tree, apparently eager to be (or maybe just take her kits) out of the clearing.

"Sunpaw, Raggedpaw, step forward."

Sunpaw's head lifted in surprise, and she shared a glance with her brother before they rose to their paws and padded towards the tree. When they passed their mother, Molebelly gave her kits an encouraging nod of her head. The two of them stopped in front of the tree and the she-cat turned her attention to the tortoiseshells and tabbies in the tree. "Until I decide who will accompany you and your mentors out while training, you'll be confined to camp. You will still be taught primarily by your MountainClan mentors, but your Coyote mentors will make sure that you're not breaking any of _our_ laws."

Sunpaw wanted to argue, but she held her tongue.

"Raggedpaw, you will be Ragged Pelt. Sunpaw, you will be Bright Sun. The two of you will sleep in the Softpaws' den."

Her and her brother looked at each other — they were getting new names _already_? Did the Monarch think that they were incapable of fending for themselves?

"The rest of you will get your names soon, and will stay in the Sharpclaws' den. Meeting dismissed!" Sunlit Claw finished in a yowl. She turned her head to murmur something to the cats in the tree with her, something that made Russet Pine leap down to the ground. The other two toms stayed perched in the branches with her, watching the cats below.

"_Bright Sun_, huh?"

Sunpaw startled at the voice — she'd been so occupied watching Sunlit Claw and the other cats in the tree with her that she hadn't noticed one of the twins' approach. She wasn't sure which one it was, yet, but he was giving her a bright grin, and Raggedpaw was scowling at him (the twin was ignoring it).

Sunpaw narrowed her eyes at him. "It's still Sunpaw," she told him. "Until I get my warrior name, at least."

"Shouldn't we be going to the apprentice's den?" Raggedpaw cut in. Sunpaw nodded her head, beginning to turn and head toward the tunnel-den she'd seen the Softpaw in earlier and was going to be, at least temporarily, theirs, but the twin pulled a face that made her pause.

"I wouldn't," he mewed quickly. "I saw Forest Eater go in there just now."

Sunpaw had to fight the urge to dig her claws into the ground. Beside her, Raggedpaw growled, the sound low and rumbling.

"But!" the twin chimed in, cheerful as could be, "there's still plenty of _other_ exploring to be done around our humble little camp. If you'll follow me, right this way…"

* * *

From her perch in the Twisted Tree, Sunlit Claw watched as MountainClan began to settle into her camp. Her tail was curled neatly around her paws, and her hazel eyes were just slightly narrowed as she observed — the Healers all seemed to be getting along as well as they could be with the medicine cat (in particular, Morning Mist and Frog Jumper seemed to be warming up to the outsider quite well), and there were no loud and dangerous noises coming from the Mother's den. While the MountainClan cats the Monarch had not directed to a den had mostly opted to keep to themselves, and hadn't moved from the center of camp, the two Softpaws were padding after a chattering Nimble Crow; and where one twin was, the other was sure to follow.

_Apprentices,_ she belatedly corrected herself. This Clan had such strange terms.

"I told you it wasn't a large group," Whispering Dew murmured to her.

Her son was right. Their warriors nearly doubled the number of their own Sharpclaws, yes, but the Coyotes weren't a large group to begin with. With two new cats in the Softpaws' den, two new kits, and more coming soon, even, it had been a good gamble for her to take.

"You also said they were impressive, for their size," Golden Whiskers commented, his head tilted as he, too, watched the separate crowds below.

Whispering Dew nodded. "They had the advantage of knowing their territory," he began — _analytical as always,_ Sunlit Claw noted fondly — "but even with them being ambushed, I don't think we would have won if Featherstar hadn't surrendered."

"Then we have a better chance than we did before," Sunlit Claw meowed. For the first time in what felt like moons, she let some of the tension seep out of her shoulders. "Let's not waste it."


End file.
